Francona Pulls Lineup Out of His Hat

Some old-time manager, can't remember who, when his offense was scuffling, used to write nine names on scraps of paper in his hat and pull them out one-by-one, and that was his batting order for the day. Red Sox Manager Terry Francona didn't do that today, as we get set for Game 4 of the ALCS, but he did shake up his lineup in a quite jarring way -- with J.D. Drew in the leadoff spot.

Actually, it makes more sense than you'd think. Back in August, when he was searching for a lineup, Francona used Drew in the leadoff spot in eight games. It made sense because Drew is a high-OBP guy (.408 this season, .392 career), and the Red Sox believe getting on base (as opposed to possessing speed) is the primary attribute they want in a leadoff hitter. Also, the Red Sox went 6-2 in those eight games.

Also tonight, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Varitek, both mired in awful slumps, are on the bench.

Changes tonight for the Rays, too, though not as drastic -- with Willy Aybar at DH and Fernando Perez in right field.

Also interesting that Crisp is in the RBI position and Lowrie is in the second leadoff position.

As you note, Francona's used Drew leadoff before. The Sox have won, but he did not hit well in the leadoff spot. Small sample size in 2008, but 39 PAs, .172 / .385 /.207, with a freakishly low BABIP of .217. Career 275 PAs, .243 / .350 / .391, with a more normal but not good .275 BABIP.

Since the Manny trade, the Red Sox have been stuck with Youk batting clean up. Recall last fall when they started the world series with Pedroia & Youk as #1 & #2. This line up seems like a reversion to the Red Sox philosophy of grinding at bats rather than the "we can beat you multiple ways" orientation of Lugo - Crisp - Ellsbury ## 8, 9 & 1 earlier in the year.

Of course, Youk has been effective at clean up and has much more power than last year or the years before. However, the way he works counts, you'd think they'd rather have an option of moving him back to #2. Without Lowell, the only other option would have been Pedroia / Youk / Ortiz / Bay / Drew ...

The irascible Billy Martin (and I'm sure there have been others) indeed resorted to the names-out-of-a-hat lineup during his managerial career, especially when his teams were on a losing streak. I seem to recall an occasion when the diminutive Eddie Brinkman hit in the cleanup spot and came up with a big hit to stop a skid for Martin's Tigers.